Nocturnal Post-Absorptive Muscle Catabolism, known in bodybuilding circles as “NPMC”, is a subject very few trainers and bodybuilding experts know how to address. It is widely known that NPMC reduces muscle growth during what should be the most productive muscle-building cycle: during sleep. In the past, there has been nothing that could be done about this phenomena.
NPMC is a naturally occurring phenomena in the human body. It occurs every night during the later hours of sleep, after the release of the body's growth hormone has abated, and drastically cuts the body's ability to synthesize new protein.
Understanding the causes of NPMC requires returning to the fundamental understanding of how and why the human body builds muscle. When a person stresses his or her muscles past their normal capacity, microscopic “rips” or “tears” are produced deep in muscle tissue. Repairing these rips or tears during recovery adds mass (growth) to the muscles. Recovery, therefore, is an essential concept to producing muscle growth and is achieved, in part, by proper rest.
Another key to achieving muscle growth and repair is having an adequate supply of available proteins when growth hormone is released by the body. Important to this concept is that about 90% of the body's daily supply of growth hormone is released during the first four (4) hours that a person sleeps. Thus, during this all-important period of sleep, compound proteins and nutrients need to be made readily available to muscles, so that the body can successfully perform the muscle-repairing, muscle-rebuilding processes that ultimately result in increased muscle size and strength.
“High Tech” protein supplements in the forms of solid foods and drinks abound. Therefore, one might naturally attempt to wake up during the night to consume one of the many protein supplements during this four (4) hour “peak” of growth hormone production. The fact is, this method does not work and may actually be counterproductive to gaining lean muscle mass. This is because high-tech protein compounds, by their very nature, have been designed and developed for rapid absorption.
Highly specialized “workout” proteins, while effective in enhancing muscle growth when used just before and just after strength training, can't help overcome sleep-induced muscle catabolism because they are assimilated so rapidly. In addition, their proteins are rapidly used up after only the first hour or so of sleep, leaving little protein to be used as “muscle-building blocks” during the most productive period of “Delta” (slow-wave) sleep, when about 90% of the body's growth hormone is released. Waking up in the middle of the night to consume another serving of a typical “high tech” protein supplement is ultimately counterproductive, since the practice results in disruption of sleep patterns, increased cortisol and decreased testosterone. These “stress factors” greatly reduce the probability that the protein serving will contribute to protein synthesis and will also disrupt whatever constructive synthesis may be taking place at the moment of waking. The only viable solution to the problem is invention envisioned herein, whereby proteins, fats and carbohydrates are provided in a manner that doesn't disrupt slow wave sleep, GH release or IG-F metabolism, but in fact helps to promote them.
Therefore, in order to combat NPMC and maximize muscle growth, necessary proteins and nutrients need to be provided to the body to utilize during this growth hormone “spike” and subsequent increase in endogenous IGF-I levels that occurs secondary to the growth hormone a spike and lasts for several hours. Providing proteins and nutrients throughout the night time period is important in order to make full use of the anabolic and anticatabolic properties of both GH and IGF-I In this way, muscle and strength loss due to sleep induced catabolism may be reduced. That is, the body needs to be provided with the proper building blocks during the NPMC stage in order to maximize muscle growth.